Warner Bros. announces major expansion to UK Barbie movie studios

Warner Bros. has announced a major new expansion to its UK studios, where much of the Barbie movie was filmed.

It plans to expand Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL), a state-of-the-art film and television studio in the UK, with the addition of 10 new sound stages and an additional 400,000 square feet of production and support space. 

The expansion will boost production capacity by 50% and grow Warner Bros. Discovery’s contribution to the UK’s film and TV production sector.

Work on the site will begin in the second quarter of 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2027. Warner Bros. said the expanded WBSL will become a primary production hub for DC Studios.  

“Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is globally-recognised for its exceptional sound stages and facilities, and with this planned expansion adding significant capacity and capabilities, it will be home to even more incredible storytelling for both film and television projects,” Simon Robinson, Chief Operating Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery Studios, said.

“We are proud to not only be growing our productions in Leavesden and making it the main hub for DC Studios, but also to be growing our economic and community contributions to the UK’s creative sector,” he added. 

The expansion will boost the total stage count from 19 to 29 and the overall production space from 1.14 million sq. ft. to 1.78 million sq. ft. 

Recent film and television shows shot on WBSL sound stages include: the global phenomenon Barbie; HBO’s hit series House of the Dragon; and the upcoming film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. 

Warner Bros summer release Barbie movie smashed all records to become the studio’s highest-grossing global release in its 100-year history. It beat previous record-holder, the 2011 ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,’ after spending a reported £150m on marketing – more than the movie’s total budget.

The WBSL expansion is set to bring 4,000 new direct and indirect jobs across the UK and grow WBSL’s contribution to the UK economy by more than £200m, raising the total value of film and television production at WBSL to an excess of £600m annually, the entertainment giant said.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, has said the news brings a “huge vote of confidence in the UK” and means that British-made entertainment will “continue to delight and entertain global audiences.”

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